The Great Book Adventure!
by Yume no Kakeru
Summary: When Armadimon destroys one of Iori's grandfathers favorite books him and Daisuke go on a hunt for it.. but it just so happens that Japans book stores might not be as normal as they'd like to think or hope for....


Iori walked down the streets of Odaiba glancing briefly at the list in his hand. Turning down one street he contemplated the situation Armadimon had put him in. Finding a book: one of his grandfathers rare treasured books. He remembered his Grandfather going on and on about it when he was younger and never understanding what it was about.

He shook his head wondering how long it would take to find the book i if /i he found it at all.

Daisuke frowned. He shook his head after he had been practically accosted by a drunk customer. The stench and manner of the rude man made him never want to drink.

He headed down the street, determined to cheer himself up by crashing cars in Burn Out 3.

Iori looked up from his paper just in time from bowling over someone wearing... goggles? "Daisuke-kun." he said recognizing the older boy with ease.

Daisuke came to an abrupt halt. "Oh, Iori! Hey, what's up?" he asked. He tilted his head and glanced at the paper. "Where you off to?"

Iori shook his head a little annoyed at his partner, "I have to go find that book Armadimon destroyed. "

"Oh, any luck so far?" he asked curiously. Daisuke saw the irritation in the younger Chosen's eyes.

Iori shook his head once more. "No, I've been to two stores so far. One, the manager seemed to not know where anything was and the other was closed and being rebuilt."

"Well, you haven't had any luck so far, it seems," Daisuke made a face. "Come on, I'll help!"

"Do you have a list of bookstores or anything on you? Or are we just going into every shop we see?"

Iori gaped at the chosen before returning to his normal composure. "But don't you want to get home?" he questioned gesturing to the paper at the elders other question. "All possible stores are written on this."

"Get home? And what? Sit on my butt, crashing cars? Come on, think of this as an adventure! It'll be fun," Daisuke cajoled, peering at the sheet and then heading down the street.

Iori sighed in defeat; sometimes there was just no stopping Daisuke. Turnning on his heel he quickly followed after his friend. "How have you been lately?" he asked wanting to start a conversation as the wondered around before they started entering stores.

"Not too bad. Busy with school work but it's died down thankfully," the goggle boy replied. He marched into the next bookstore. "And how's your kendo going?"

"Oh. Uhm...what was the book called?" he finally had the wits to ask.

Daisuke didn't recognize the words. "Japan undo dii Japaner?" he blankly murmured. "What an odd book. That's some weird English there. What's it look like, Iori?""

Iori sweatdropped. "If I'm correct it's pronounced Japan und die Japaner, it's German. Something from the late nineteen twenties." he stopped remembering what the book looked like before Armadimon destroyed it, " It said the title in German and the top had a banner with what looked like a rising sun, on the right of the cover it had the Kanji for the name of the book. I think that's right."

"Ah, right," Daisuke nodded along. "I knew that. I was just testing you."

He marched up to the bookstore owner. "Excuse me. We're looking for a rare, antique book. It's Greek and it's called Japan und die Japaner."

The bookstore owner nodded looking it up on the computer. "I'm sorry but there is no Greek book called Japan und die Japaner." she replied clicking through the various books.

"Are you sure? It's got a sun on it, it's from the 1920's and it's about--" Daisuke turned to his friend. "Wait, what was it about?"

"Er... I'm actually not reall sure," he said mentally kicking himself, "My grandfather only went on about it when I was younger. And it's German, Daisuke-kun, not Greek."

"Oh. Right then. German," he turned back to the woman. But after a few moments, she still came up empty.

Daisuke asked her for some of the specialty books stores, ones that perhaps dealt in antiques. She rattled off some places and Daisuke thanked her.

"Shall we go then, Iori?" Daisuke glanced down.

"Hai." Iori replied openning the door for his friend.

"Did you get the places she listed off?" the older teen asked. He decided to let Iori lead the way, seeing as he had the list with him

"Hai, the closest one will be Kaze Bukku. Want to go there next?" he questioned mummering, "such a wierd name."

"Wind Book?" Daisuke tried the name out. "It is a little odd. But whatever. Let's go." He headed off in his usual take-charge manner. He wasn't even sure which direction to go though.

After circling the block twice Iori finally asked, "Do you even know which direction to go in?" he glanced at the paper, this certainly wasn't the right way.

He pointed down the left road. "That's the first turn Daisuke-kun."

**Daisuke nodded. "Onward march then!" With his usual energy and exuberance, the soccer player headed down the street.**

**Iori watched him for a moment wondering where he found all that energy after school and work before quickly following after him, after all out of the two of them he seemed to be the one that knew direction more.**

**Daisuke peered at the paper once more before charging stoutly ahead. Straight down the street and then a block over. Hm...**

**"Is this it?" he asked, glancing at the bookstore.**

**Iori looked at the dusty windblown bookstore dumbfoundly checking the address. "Hai it is."**

**"Oh good," laughed the older teenager. "Let's go in then," he waved a hand at Iori.**

**I**ori openned the door and a waft of old books and something else filled the air, it was foul. "You sure?" he questioned, but before he could finish it something came sailling out of the door.

**Daisuke's eyes went huge. Before he could get knocked over, he dove out of the way. He just hoped Iori, who was behind him, didn't get smacked.**

**Iori managed to move out of the way just in time before the object crashed and broke into the wall behind them. "Should we go in still...?" Iori questioned even though he was sure the object had been a clear no.**

**"Uhm..." Daisuke sweatdropped. As the dust settled, he pulled his goggles on to keep the dust from getting in his eyes. **

**"Well...what's the worst that can happen?" he asked innocently.**

**"Err.." Iori started knowing that if stuff was getting thrown at them it could get worse. He watched Daisuke wearing his goggles squinitng his eyes to keep the dust out, currently wishing he had goggles.**

**Daisuke looked around the shop, as he entered. He wondered if anyone ever went to this shop; it was that dusty. Breathing carefully, he peered into the shop. "Uhm...hello?"**

**Iori followed hearing a low grunt in responce. The books were grimy, filled with dust other then that the place seemed rather normal except for the foul smell. "What do you want?" a man asked from behind a bookself.**

**"A book hopefully," Daisuke replied. "This is a bookstore, is it not?"**

**He swiped a finger along a shelf, finding a thick layer of dust coating it. Making a face, Daisuke wiped his finger off on his jeans.**

**Iori grimaced at the fowl odors. "You wouldn't happen to have a book from the 1920's would you?" he asked getting a look from the owner. He turned fingering some of his precious books. "No, and if I did they aren't for sale." he replied**

**"This is a bookstore. But books from the 1920's are precious to me." the older man said turning to face the teens with a scowl, "get out. You're dirtying my books."**

**"Well, excuse us for wanting to be customers in this...bookstore," Daisuke scowled back. "We didn't mean to dirty this...store." He emphasized the word with a cough.**

**The man glared at him picking up a magazine looking it over to see if it had any value. It was at this point Iori grabbed Daisuke's arm pulling him back. "I think we should just leave now, Daisuke-kun." he said urgently.**

**Daisuke glared. "Oh, sorry for wanting to buy books from a bookstore," he managed to keep the sarcasm down to a minimum at least.**

**Iori sighed, his friend wasn't going to leave without picking a fight. The man glared at him hurling the magazine at him, seeing as it seemed to have lost it's value. The magazine aimed straight for the goggles.**

**Daisuke ducked, hand shooting out to catch the magazine. "This is why you don't have any customers," he informed the store owner. "Iori, let's get out of here. There's nothing worth it here."**

"**Yeah.." Iori said watching the man slink back into the shadows of one the bookshelves watching them carefully through the cracks in the books. He openned the door to the store.**

**Daisuke asked Iori to direct them to the next store. "Hm, looks like there's one a few blocks away," he glanced at the sheet of addresses.**

"**That one next then?" he asked to confirm it with his friend.**

**Daisuke nodded and when they neared it, there was a harmless old lady sweeping the steps. She smiled at some passing people, her eyes crinkling up. "Ah, someone normal," the goggle boy grinned.**

**Iori nudged his friend in disapproval but grinned a bit as well. **

**"What? Look at her. She's harmless!" Daisuke exclaimed. "Not that I was scared of the last guy. At all."**

**Iori rolled his eyes at his friend as they soon reached the old woman. He bowed slightly at her- as he was taught. "Konichwa" he greeted.**

**She looked up, eyes shining warmly. "What was that, young man? Congee? No congee, sorry," she creaked out.**

**Iori blinked glancing at his friend. "No that's not what I said," he said uneasily, "Konichiwa is what I said, mam."**

"**I'm sorry, young man. No confetti here either, Only books," she shook her head as she swept the dirt away.**

**Iori gestured to his friend as if to say it wa his turn to try.**

**Daisuke frowned. Was she making fun of them? He leaned down a little and pronounced clearly. "Ma'am? We're looking for a book. It's a German book."**

"Eh? No germs here, I'm afraid. I keep this store clean everyday!"

**Iori thought about what she might have heard for a second and then tried again, but a bit louder then he normally would. "Would you perhaps have a German book called: Japan un die Japaner."**

**She shook her head. "Yes, many Japanese books in here," she smiled warmly and ushered them inside.**

"**All of these are Japanese books," she waved her hand around the shelves. She reminded Daisuke of his own grandmother, short but sweet and helpful. "This one is about Japanese fruit. And this one is Japanese cooking. And here we have Japanese pets too."**

**Iori nodded in acknowledgment . "Thank you, but would you happen to have any books from Germany?" he asked in the loud voice he had used earlier.**

**She shook her head. "Only geraniums in the Japanese flower book sections," she replied patiently.**

**Iori nodded, "Thank you anyway." he replied. **

**Daisuke smiled at her politely. "Yes, you were-uh...most helpful. Have a nice day, ma'am."**

"Ah, no Halo either," she shook her head and waved when they left.

Iori marked the store off. "How many more bookstores do you think we're going to do that are going to be- unusual?" he asked coming up with the right word to describe it.

"**Hopefully no more. But at least she didn't throw anything at us," Daisuke grinned. "Come on, how bad can the next one be?"**

"**True..." he replied returning the grin, "hopefully not all bad." **

**How wrong he was.**

**Daisuke charged down the next street. He waved around the map and information sheet Iori had, heedless of the people around him as he meandered on. After a long while, and a couple blisters later, Daisuke stared up at the banner across the store.**

**It gleamed: i Cute Hikari Bookstore. /i **

**Shaking his head wildly, Daisuke rubbed his eyes. Ah...Crow's Light Bookstore. Not...He made a face.**

Iori followed Daisukes pace, not able to even say anything for his friends rudeness or else it would mean losing him. Finally catching up to his friend when he slowed down, having decided to walk a block away from the store. He watched his friends changing expression. "Are you alright, Daisuke-kun?" he questioned.

**"I'm being haunted and I'm not even dead yet," he muttered, sticking his tongue out.**

"Nani?" Iori questioned tilting his head in a confused manner.

**He hadn't even realized he had gotten it wrong. "I'm being hanted," he repeated slower, "and I'm not even dead yet. Like...the TellTale Heart but this is the TellTale Book store!" He gestured to the book store name.**

"Daisuke-kun...how can you be haunted if your dead? Aren't you normally haunted when you're alive?" Iori questioned glancing up at the name.

**Daisuke blinked. "Ah, you're right, right. Of course. I meant that I'm being haunted when I'm...uh yeah, never mind."**

**The poor kid probably thought he was nuts. Which Daisuke had to admit, was possibly true. "Let's go in," he grinned sheepishly instead.**

**Iori raised an eyebrow at Daisukes appearant rambelling, before openning the door for his friend to enter. Not thinking he was nuts, because he was Daisuke- Daisuke had a catagory of his own.**

**He entered and his first thought was ' i Shit, there really b is /b a ghost and it's attacking me! /i ' There was something attached to his leg, trying to suck his soul out from the bottom of his shoe! The fearless leader yelped and shut his eyes. "Run Iori, before it's too late!"**

"Daisuke-kun.." Iori started seeing the thing that Daisuke was so afraid of,"look down it's just a cat.." he said trying to keep a straight face at his friend horrified expression- the cat mewing cheerfully.

**Daisuke cracked one eye open, looked down. His other eye followed suit. "It's a demon cat!" He exclaimed, pointing wildly. "It wants to eat my soul!"**

"Er..no..Daisuke-kun, I think it's just a cat," Iori replied bending down to pet the cat- as if to day 'See Daisuke-kun? It's just a cat.' It was getting harder to keep a straight face.

**He frowned. "You're certain. Why is it trying to attach itself to my leg then?" Daisuke tried to shake the cat off, finding it leeched to him.**

Iori grinned at him,"Maybe he likes you, Daisuke-kun."

**Daisuke tried to dettach the little demon. "Get off, you little soul sucker," he muttered. The feline finally get go but not before raking its nails down his legs in an attempt to hold on. He yelled and dropped the cat. It promptly walked away, looking back and giving Daisuke a look of pure evil.**

Iori blinked at what the cat did, and currently looked like. "Daisuke-kun, do you still want to go in? It seems that cat i really /i doesn't like you.." Not believing he was a soul sucker.

**"Why don't you go in? I can wait here," he made a face. "If I hear screams, I'll come rescue you."**

**There was a young girl, in the shoppe. She had three cats surrounding her, watching the store with keen eyes. And there were at least six more scattered throughout the store. Only the twitch of a tail or slow blinking showed them to be real.**

**Iori blinked at all the cats in the bookstore, was it sanitary? Then again it was a used bookstore. Warily he walked to where the girl was. "Excuse me," he startd,"but I was wondering if you had a certain book?"**

**One of the cats uncurled from her shoulder and gracefully jumped down. It walked up to Iori and sniffed him, crouching down.**

**"You might want to move," she warned before he could get another word out.**

**The cat pounced and thankfully missed. Outside, Daisuke was sitting on a small ledge, trying to fix the wounds. They were beading up fast, and they hurt too, He scowled. "Demon cat," he mumbled.**

**Back inside, another cat approached Iori, eyes glowing eerily.**

**"They don't like it when someone buys books," she admitted.**

**"Eh?" Iori questioned moving out of the cats way, as the girl had warned curiously. What exactly did the cats have against them? Maybe they were demons as Daisuke had suggested, but he highly doubted it.**

"I see.." Iori replied taking a few step backwards, away from the cat," protective of them?" he mused,"I think I'll leave then.."

**"I'm really sorry," she called although it was mostly drowned out by the yowling of the various cats. They slowly rose up and skulked closer and closer to Iori, eyes flashing unaturally.**

Iori gulped slightly reaching the dor and quickly exiting, closing the door. He quickly looked at Daisuke,"Remind me not to go in there to but a book," he said halfjokingly.

**The goggle boy laughed. "Will do. No demon cats for us."**

**As though in response, the cats yowled from inside the store.**

Iori glimpsed at the door,"I think I actually believe you when you say 'demon cats' now.."

**He grinned. "Let's get outta here before they come after us then."**

**"**No I don't think they're willing to leave the bookstore," Iori replied grinning,"but then again.."


End file.
